What lies in the mind
by Insane Melody
Summary: NarutoXPersona 3 Xover. Why does my head hurt? Why do I keep hearing a roar? Who the hell? Personas? Evokers? What the hell is going on! M for future lemons.NaruTayu.
1. Awakening

AN : Yes...I haven't finished my other story but this fic seemed good in my mind so I hope it's good enough on paper...uh...on the internet. This a Naruto X Persona 3 Crossover. Seriously, I love the game although I haven't finished it and haven't bought FES(Cause the don't sell it in Brunei.Hmph!) . I don'tknow a lot of the game but I'll try to make things similiar to the game and anyone out there who knows indepth detail of the game would be gladly appreciated. Plus I would be making up some of my own Personas. I may also change some Personas appearance as well and add in my own techniques.

"Speak"

_'Thinking/Persona'_

**"Demon/Spell/Jutsu/Summon Boss"**

Disclaimer : If I owned Naruto and Persona 3, I would be stinking rich and there would be more occult stuff in the anime.

* * *

His head hurt. It hurt like hell. He felt something pound against the back of his head. He could have sworn someone hit him. He turned around to see everyone writing notes. He turned to the front only to get hit by a piece of chalk.

"Naruto! Pay attention!"

Said academy student groaned and clutched his head. Iruka just stood in front with an angry look on his face. There had been no disruptions. It seemed like the Pranking Emperor was having an off day.Naruto grinned weakly at the academy instructor.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. I'll try to pay more attention."

Iruka and the rest of the class were shocked. Usually, the blonde student would cause something close to an uproar but his voice was meek and if Iruka listened properly, there was a hint of pain. "I'll let it slide for now, Naruto."

Iruka turned around once more and started to explain about the elemental countries, casting a watchful eye over Naruto. Every few minutes, Naruto would groan and rub the back of his head. It was almost lunch when Iruka shouted out. "Naruto! I can see you're feeling unwell. Do you need to go to the nurses office?"

Naruto looked up from his notebook and gave a weak smile. "Don't worry, Iruka-sensei. I'm fine." Everyone raised an eyebrow at this except for one meek girl.

"A-anou...N-N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto turned around to see the Hyuuga heiress with a concerned look in her pure white eyes. " N-N-Naruto-kun, you s-s-should t-t-take care of yourself. Y-you c-c-could c-c-collapse at any t-t-time..."

Naruto just gave Hinata his signature foxy grin and nodded. It wasn't a secret that Hinata had feelings for the fox boy. Everyone knew except for the crushee. Naruto stood up and packed his stuff.

"Iruka-sensei, excuse me."

The blonde walked out of the door and headed over to the nurse.

* * *

"Say 'Ahh'."

Naruto was in the middle of his checkup clad only in his orange and blue boxers. He had a good looking body for a 13 year old. It wasn't musclebound but it showed that he was lean and fit. "Tho...hanythin rong wif me?"

The nurse took nodded to Naruto to close his mouth. "I don't know what's wrong with you. You're the prime symbol of physical fitness! Whatever it is...it has something to do with your mind...tell you what...head over to the Yamanaka shop and ask for Inoichi. He'll help you out. Just say Mikan sent you."

Naruto nodded and put on his clothes. Once he was outside, he frowned. It was clear that the Yamanakas hated him because of the Kyuubi sealed within him.

* * *

Yamanaka Flower Shop - 4 p.m.

Naruto went in the shop causing the 'ding' when the door opened.

"Welcome to the Yamana-...Oh, it's you, Naruto. What do you want?"

Naruto frowned inwardly at this. Ino was always a bitch toward him but he didn't care. He had more pressing matters to attend to. "I'm here to see your dad, Ino. I've got something I need his help with."

Ino nodded and went to the greenhouses at the back of the shop. A few minutes later, a man seemingly around 30 entered and narrowed his eyes at Naruto. " What the hell do _you _want!?"

Naruto kept a stoic look on his face and merely said," Mikan sent me." Inoichi raised an eyebrow at this but gave it no heed. Inoichi made a gesture asking Naruto to follow him into a room. "So, you feel something pounding at the back of your head?"

"No, Inoich-san. More like in my mind. When I sleep, the poundings become more intense. Sometimes, it comes to the point where I feel as if I'm on the brink of insanity."

Inoichi just sat there looking at Naruto. "Fine. I'll help you. Only because Mikan asked me to." Inoichi started doing handseals. In a few seconds he stopped and yelled," **Seishinraikou No Jutsu!" **He felt his mind enter Naruto and was greeted by darkness. Complete darkness. It somehow unnerved the experienced shinobi. Only those who had experienced pain almost everyday would have darkness. He then felt his feet and ankles wet and saw a stream of water. He looked up and noticed for the first time that he was in a sewer.

He started walking around to hear something pound against metal. He turned around the corner and saw a demon. However, it was not the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Instead it was a gold four-tailed fox with red tips on the ends of its tails. Inoichi eyed the gate and saw a circle with a six-pointed star on it. In the middle was the kanji for "Seal." The gold fox noticed Inoichi and shouted out,_' Hama!'_

In an instant several papers surrounded Inoichi with the kanji for expel and banish. In a flash of light, Inoichi was thrown out of Naruto's mind. Naruto looked at Inoichi expectantly as if asking he found out what was wrong. "Gomen, Naruto, but I can't find out what's wrong with you."

Naruto could tell he was lying but he didn't press the matter further because he knew there was a good reason.

* * *

Academy - Next Day

Naruto shuffled in class and dropped in a seat beside Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Naruto, worry marring his features. Naruto had helped Sasuke greatly getting over the pain of the Uchiha clan being slaughtered by his brother. Sasuke was arrogant but he neede some sense beaten into him so Naruto did just that. After a few eeks, they somehow became best friends much to the chagrin of the Sasuke fan club. " Yo, Naruto. You okay?"

Naruto turned his head towards his brother and nodded weakly accompanied with a small grin. Sasuke was about to ask him something when they were interrupted by Iruka."Class, today we have a three new students joining us so try to make them feel comfortable."

As soon as that was said, three students came in. The first one was a young boy with a cap on his head, a white tanktop and a jacket with a furry collar, black boots and a silver necklace. He stepped up to the front and gave a smile towards everybody which practically screamed 'class clown'. "Yo! The name's Iori Junpei! Nice to meet ya!" He walked over and found an empty seat at the back.

After Junpei came a girl with short brown hair which curled at the the sides. She was wearing a normal white buttoned shirt, a pink jacket wrapped around her waist, a black skirt and a white heart-shaped choker. She gave a giggle and introduced herself. "My name's Takeba Yukari! I hope we can work well together!" She gave a small smile and a short bow which instantly captured every guys heart save for Sasuke. Naruto and Junpei. She walked up and sat beside Junpei.

The next one seemed...quiet. He walked up and instantly every girl had hearts in their eyes except for one Sasuke-obsessed fan and a meek heiress. He had short blue hair covering his right eye. He wore a black choker which had the kanji for "Arcana" , dark blue pants ,a simple white buttoned t-shirt covered by a black jacket which had some kind of emblem which was red , white and black and earphones in his ears. "Minato Arisato." He gave a short bow and joined the other two. Everyone was slightly surprised at his introduction. He just casually ignoring the cries of girls asking him out.

Naruto gave a small groan which was unheard by Sasuke. " Naruto! Seriously, if you're not feeling too well just go home!" Naruto once again gave a small smile and said "No need, dattebayo!"

His head had started pounding more. It was more intense than before. When the blue-haired kid went in, his head started throbbing like mad! Lessons had started and Iruka was explaining about the Hokages of Konohagakure. He looked over at the three new kids and saw they were whispering with each other. Minato sensed someone watching and looked at Naruto. They stared at each other for a while when his head started pounding even more until he fainted.

"NARUTO!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden outburst and looked over where said blonde fainted.

With Minato and the rest

"Yo, Minato, you think that guy has one?"

Minato just gave a small nod. Yukari looked at everyone one more time. "It seems like almost everyone can use personas. That Naruto kid has one...he just needs an evoker and something to speed up his 'awakening'."

"Yeah, but I wonder why here of all places?"

Yukari was about to give him an answer only to be interrupted by Minato. "It's because the Dark Hour seems to be even more deadly here. It's amazing that no one has the Apathy Syndrome yet. We just need to be careful. Besides, Akihiko-sempai, Mitsuru-sempai and Shinjiro-sempai have evrything under control over at the seniors. Ikutsuki-san is checking the teachers. Kororamaru with the animals. Fuuka with the civilians. And Aigis with the rest."

Junpei and Yukari just sat there eyeing the scene." When do you think it will happen, Minato-kun?"

"..."

"..."

"...Tonight..."

* * *

Naruto's apartment - 11.59

Naruto was in pain. His headaches were now on a whole new level. He looked over at his clock and groaned. He had strated to sleep late due to the headaches.

Ding!...Ding!...Di-

Naruto opened his eyes and saw that his alarm clock died. Everything had started to look greenish and there was blood splattered on his wall. Hestood up and drssed up in his clothes drawing out a kunai. He walked towards his door and was greeted to the sight of the moon which had turned an eerie yellowish green colour. He heard a squirming sound and saw a black goop with a blue mask heading toward Naruto. He was shocked to see something like that but thrust his kunai into the mask and it instantly dissolved into into red and black shadows.

Naruto took a few steps back and jumped down from the building. He saw a fe coffins leaning against walls. Naruto blinked. Sweat had started forming on his brow. He sprinted toward the Hokage tower in hopes of the old man still being there. However, he was stopped by a large...thing. It was large. It had four long legs bent making it look like a spider, it had two arms holding katanas and it was wearing a similiar blue mask.

Naruto ran forward and gave a battle cry. He tried to hit the creture only to be blocked repeatedly by the katanas. It just wouldn't let up! Naruto was getting tired quickly and was suffering chakra exhaustion from using kawarimi constantly. The creature lifted up one of its swords and was about to swing it down only to be interrupted by a katana which instantly cut off one of its arms. Naruto looked over at the wielder and saw Minato in a relaxed position with his blade on his shoulder.

"Can you get up?"

"H-hai." Was Naruto's shaky reply.

"Good. Yuka-chan. Heal Naruto and give him an evoker. I want to end this. Junpei. Keep the Fool busy."

"Hahaha! Come on, you blob! The great Iori Junpei will beat you up! Yeehaw!"

Minato sheathed his blade and took out two cards. and started flipping them. "**Arai Karuto!"**

In that instance, the two cards turned into several shards with a resounding "crack". "**I summon the Master of Strings. Your master needs your flames. Orpheus! Kasai Heki!"**

After MInato said it, a figure appeared behind him. It was tall and had white hair and a white harp. Its face was black and it had red eyesIt gave a resounding roar and created shot a ball of flames toward the creature. As soon as it made contact, the creature was set ablaze but it was far from over.

Minato sharply turned towards Naruto. His eyes showing something dangerous. "Use the evoker! Shoot your head!...NOW!"

Naruto could only gape at the trio's power and he looked down at the gun in his hands. He gave a gulp and pointedit towards his head. As soon as the cold steel of the gun touched his head, his eyes glazed over and he yelled out his persona,** "Koganeyajuu!"**

With a bang and a crack, Konohagakure was shaken off its foundation by a roar.

* * *

Author's Note : Fidgets I think it was okay...Now there are some things here which you don't recognize because I will be adding my own moves, spells, techniques and yadda-yadda-yadda. No likey? Then, just accept it. Because it's my fic and I have a right to it.

* * *

Translation :

Arai Karuto : Wild Card

- Minato draws out two or more cards which hold an arcana or persona and fuses them together. The result would be a persona or two would appear and combine two or more attacks into one.

Kasai Heki : Fire Burst

- Orpheus or any fire using persona creates a ball of flames which explodes upon contact.

Koganeyajuu meana Gold Beast.

* * *

Author's Note : Oh yes. Don't forget to give reviews! Constructive criticism accepted! Flames will be used to make barbecue!

* * *


	2. Decision

AN : o.o I was actually thinking of deleting this fic but since I had a review, I decided to write again. And I decide the pairing to be...NarutoXTayuya! Reason? I dunno...just something in my head told me it would be a good idea...On with the story!

"Speak"

_'Thinking/Persona'_

**"Demon/Spell/Jutsu/Summon Boss"**

Disclaimer : If I owned Naruto and Persona 3, I would make sure that Minato(Main char. of Persona 3) would just go out with either Yuko or Yukari..or AIGIS!

* * *

**"Koganeyajuu!"**

With a 'crack', Konoha shook on its foundations as a roar rang through. The three exchange students didn't expect to see a golden fox with its four tails flailing about. With a shout of ,**"Agilao!" **The shadow stumbled back before being tackled by the gold fox.Junpei could only gape at the power of the Persona which Naruto summoned. While Yukari and Minato were discussing that they had found another with the 'potential'.

Naruto stood up grasping his head and looked at the golden fox fighting for him only to be slashed by the shadow. He winced in pain and jumped back. He looked back and saw the three viewing the fight casually as if there was nothing wrong. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Aren't you going to do something about this?" He gestured towards the fight and saw Minato moving up to him. "Dismiss your persona. You'll suffer from exhaustion soon."

"Exhaustion!?What do you...oh, crap." Naruto saw his Persona fade away and he fell to the ground on his knees. The shadow took the chance to attack the fallen student and rushed at him, swords poised to strike. It brought the sword down upon Naruto only to be stopped by another blade. Naruto looked over and saw the silent boy with his hand out, apparently making no effort to hold his sword. Minato glanced at the shadow and with a whisper, it all ended.

"**Megido..."**

A flash of light and Naruto went back to the land of slumber...

* * *

"Man...who knew he had such a strong inner self eh?" 

"Yeah...Golden Beast...It suits him."

"..."

"Hey, Minato?"

"What is it, Yuka-chan?"

"How powerful do you think this guy is?"

"He seems close to that of the Priestess shadow. His arcana is the Fool. We can expect him to be great..."

"Fool? So that means...His choices will determine his destiny?"

"Exactly...but we have to be careful...He lacks control on his Persona."

* * *

Naruto woke up only to be greeted by the blinding sunlight. He raised his hand to block out the light threatening to burn his eyes. He winced as he sat up and clutched his head. With a groan, he stood up and went to his bathroom only to be greeted by a stranger. He looked similiar to Naruto only he had longer hair coming up to his neck. His hair was a few shades lighter Naruto's yellow hair making it look white with dark yellow tips with more defined whiskermarks. Only after he went out of his dazed stupor, he realized who it was. 

"What..the hell happened to me!?"

He clutched his head in pain once more as a barrage of memories went through his mind. His arms fell limply to the side and he muttered that one word...that word which started it all.

"Per...so...na..."

CRACK

* * *

Minato and his friends entered the classroom and headed for their seats. Minato stopped when he spotted Naruto lying on own on his table. He raised at his new appearance but shook it off as the result of summoning his persona. Junpei just shook his head when he saw Naruto lying down but didn't pay it any mind. While Yukari was having a debate with herself. 

Minato went up to Naruto and slid a note under his arms.

The bell rang and Iruka went in the class waking up the sleeping students(Actually it was just Shikamaru and Naruto.) Naruto woke up to find a note folded neatly and noted that it smelled like gunpowder with metal. He unfolded and started reading it.

_Meet us in Training Ground 39. 11.55 p.m._

_- M Y J_

Naruto furrowed his brows in annoyance. What the fuck is going on?

* * *

-Training Ground 39- 

Training Ground 39 was large with several craters in it. It was vastly used by people who practiced with their ninjutsu thus creating mayhem everywhere. Naruto stepped in to find three figures in the distance. He furrowed his brows once more and fingered his kunai holster, ready to attack should these people wanted to kill him. When he reached them, he was shocked to see the exchange students carrying weapons with guns in their holsters.

"M-Minato? Junpei? Yukari? You're the guys who-"

Minato raised his hand to silence him. "I bet you have a lot of questions, huh?"

Naruto could only frown and nod at this.

"Well, let me ask you this. Did you know that a day is actaually more than 24 hours?"

Naruto could only gape and shake his head.

"You see, this extra hour is hidden between this day and the next and it happens every midnight. Not many people know this because in this hour, they are transmorgified into coffins completely unaware of the danger that is happening. We call this hour, the Dark Hour because of the shadows it brings. However, there are people who are aware of this. People who are have the power to summon their inner sleves by using the subconcious 'fear'. By summoning our subconcious, they take up a form which we can control to figt for us also known as...Persona. You have it too, Naruto. And we want to ask you this...will you join us? In this time of need? To fight the shadows?"

Naruto furrowed his brow in concentration and was about to decline when Junpei stepped in. "Dude, ya don't haveta answer now. Give some time on it. You have until the next new moon to answer."

Naruto nodded at this and headed home only to be stopped by a soft hand.

"Hey, Naruto, you'll need this just in case the Dark Hour comes before you reach home. Here's an evoker and a blade. Later!" Yukari ran back to the two boys and they walked off.

* * *

-A week after the meeting-

Naruto slurped down his ramen with gusto while having a battle with his inner self.

'_I told you already! I'll think about it!'_

_'Hah! The answer is yes! Just go with them and you'll obtain power to fight back against this pathetic village!'_

_'Maybe...but I won't. All I know is you're my anger and darkness...where is the rest of my 'inner self'?'_

_'You mean the light in your heart? Maybe it's snuffed out! Muhahaha!'_

And with that, the connection was gone. Naruto blinked and looked down and saw that he had finished his ramen. He ordered a couple more bowls of ramen. He looked around and saw the flap of the entrance set aside and saw them come in.

"Man! The ramen here smells great? What'cha think, Minato? Am I right or am I right?"

"Stupei...it's just ramen, don't be all worked about it. Right, Minato-kun?"

Minato just stood there with an indifference and he walked over to Naruto and sat beside him. "Tomorrow's the new moon...I expect an answer...If you accept...head to the Hokage tower."

Minato stood up and went over to his bickering friends and motioned them to take a seat. Naruto got up and paid for his ramen and mulled over everything once more. Once he reached his apartment, he took out the evoker which Yukari gave him. He fingered with a finger before pointing it towards his head.

_'I'll do it...'_

BANG! CRACK!

* * *

-Hokage Tower(The Day After. The New Moon.)-

Naruto leaned against the tower while his right hand fingered the evoker in its holster. He heard footsteps and readied himself. He took out his katana and took a basic stance. Once the figures came into view, he let out a breath which he didn't realize he was holding in.

"Yo, Naruto-kun!"

"So, have you decided?"

Naruto gave a nod towards the three and gave them his answer. "I'll join but only to see what happens."

"All right! A new SEES member!"

"SEES?"

"We'll tell you the rest. For now...it's time to enter Tartarus."

"Tarta-?"

With a rumble, the Hokage tower shifted into a whole new building. It was sinister looking and it was even bigger than the Hokage tower. What scared Naruto was the sheer amount of blood and death that reeked out of every hole.

"Welcome to the Tower of Demise...Tartarus."

* * *

AN : Phew!...All DONE!

* * *


	3. First Block

A/N : Yosh! A new chapter is up!

Disclaimer : Dont own em both.

* * *

Naruto's brows furrowed slightly in confusion. What the hell happened to the Hokage tower? It was now deformed and wicked. Roars and screams rang throughout the night. Blood was everywhere. Only when he entered, he noticed three others. A sophisticated looking redhead listening to the animated chatting of one silver-haired boxer. Beside them was a young girl with teal hair with her eyes closed as if sensing something. 

Minato walked briskly past Naruto and walked over to the three, quietly talking to them with glances towards Naruto once in a while. Naruto looked around again and stared at the stairs as if daring him to take a step. He knew that once he entered, he could die. He fingered the katana they gave him. He thought back when he trained with it. He was at a decent swordsman level but one glance at how Minato held his sword showed Naruto, that he was no match for Minato at all. He bet that the silent boy could slice him down quicker than the eye.

He was brought out of his reverie when Junpei shook him. "Dude, come on. We'll introduce you to the rest."

Naruto followed Junpei to the three strangers which he eyed carefully. He stood there for several minutes when the teal-haired girl opened her eyes and smiled softly. "Hello, my name is Fuuka. It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto gave a nod in her direction and grinned a little. "So you're Uzumaki huh? You seem pretty strong. I'd love to have a spar with you. The name's Akihiko and she's Mitsuru." The silver haired boxer pointed his thumb towards the other female of the group. The redhead merely smiled and gave a nod to his direction.

Naruto looked them over once more and asked the question that had bugged him for a while. "Mind explaining to me what this is all about?"

Minato simply shifted while his blank eyes stared over at Mitsuru, as if waiting for a confirmation. She merely nodded and walked off to a contraption with two wheels. "We are...persona-users, Naruto. We are also called SEES or the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. In charge of defeating shadows which is a remnant from the past. We travel around the world looking for dungeons such as this and it seems we found the main dungeon.Tartarus or the Tower of Demise. You have many questions but we can only answer it when the time is right, This is as much as I cansay and I only have permission to give you the gist of it...Once you're ready, talk to Fuuka, she'll give you some items. Tonight, we'll just explore the first ten floors and fight the floor boss there."

Naruto shifted from foot to foot from his explanation, to say he wasn't unnerved or annoyed was an understatement. He could hear his persona growling at Minato and shouting for blood. He wanted to know more and to find out more, he had to join SEES and explore this tower. After checking everything was in top order, Fuuka gave him a set of medical equipment.

Naruto went over to the stairs and saw Minato, Yukari and Junpei waiting for him. "Today, we'll be your team. In due time, you'll be able to pick who you want in your team. Now, let me tell you something, I'm an all-rounder meaning I can use any weapon but I prefer swords and my stats are all balanced. Yuka-chan prefers bow and arrows and she excels at wind spells/jutsus and healing techniques. Junpei uses two-handed swords and he's more of a pwerhouse but he is also proficient in fire spells/jutsus.

"Just remember that we have our own weaknesses to. Because in due time, you'll be taking your own teamonce we find other potentials. Understand,Naruto? Once you enter, there's no turning back."

Naruto gulped audibly and steeled himself. He stepped up the stairs and merely looked over his shoulder. "I don't care. I want to know...who I am. I want to know why I have this power, I want...to...!" Minato clutched his shoulder and gave him a small nod. "Come...the first floor is relatively easy."

* * *

**"Agilao!"** The flames that erupted from Koganeyajuu's mouth burned the shadow when a gust of wind from Io made the flames grow increasing the damage. Once the flames died out, Naruto jumped into the air and stabbed the Shadow in it's mask, defeating it. They had already ascended over 8 floors. Fuuka's voice giving them information and the outline of the map.

Naruto huffed heavily as the battle ended. Minato had shown some of his weaker personas but the blonde knew he had several ways to go in order to reach Minato's level. Yukari and Junpei wer slightly weaker than Minato but they were definitely in their own league.

Naruto closed his eyes as Koganeyajuu retreated into the excesses of his mind. "Naruto-kun, you okay? The tenth floor is next. Will you be ready for this?"

Naruto opened his eyes and stared into the chocolate orbs of Yukari and stood up straight. "Yeah, I'm ready, just needed to catch my breath."

"Good...because you'll be fighting it alone."

"W-what!?"

"Dude, we're here to help you out and that's it. We've been fighting these small fries and your level has raised by a lot. You're more than a match. We'll help you out, only when you're at the brink."

Naruto just sighed and grunted as he walked up the stairs.

* * *

Naruto swung his blade down as the _Ice Statue(1) _dodged the attack. Naruto was having some difficulties with it. He had just recently found out, he had an affinity for fire and wind but with a severe weakness for ice spells. For now,his enemy had just shot arrows at him, only using bufu spells from afar.

Naruto stepped back and took out his evoker with his left hand. The shadow had started to charge up a bufu spell, a bufulao, if Minato wasn't mistaken. Naruto felt the cold steel of the evoker on his forehead. He gritted his teeth as he calld him out. "**Koganeyajuu!"**

**_BANG!_**

Shards of blue came out and formed into the golden beast. It rushed forward and rammed the enemy. The shadow had just finished charging it's spell when it was attacked by a fox. Claws and teeth marks appeared on the body of the statue when it fell backwards from a critical attack, it saw a blur of yellow appear above it. "**Agi Ken!"**

It never felt the blade piercing through it due to the flames. It dissolved into nothingness as Naruto grabbed his spoils of battle. He felt hands clapping his back and heard the jovial voices of one Iori Junpei.

When the final clap reached his back, he fell to the floor with an ungracious _thud._ He fell into deep slumber as his 'tenants' wanted a talk with him.

* * *

_Ice Statue : A statue of ice from the Empress Arcana. Known for its bufu spells. Although low-levelled it can cause severe damage with it's spells._


End file.
